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Communciations and Digital Technologies Minister, Mondli Gungubele, has officially launched the SA Connect Phase 2 project at Bhonga Village in EmaXesibeni (formerly Mount Ayliff), under the Afred Nzo District Municipality.
The project is aimed at providing core and access network infrastructure to enable broadband connectivity to community Wi-Fi hotspots that will connect households.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) said that SA Connect is a national project that galvanises the capability, resources, and energy of public and private sectors towards realising a bold vision of a connected society through extending connectivity to all schools, health facilities, and government facilities.
To date 4 565 households and 124 community Wi-Fi hotspots have been connected in 11 district municipalities across South Africa.
Gungubele launched the second phase of the project on November 3.
“Through the project we want to dispel the notion that access to digital technologies and the internet is only possible in developed cities. Villages in EmaXesibeni are already reaping the benefits of having access to the internet.
“Small business owners are telling us that they have increased their customer base by having access to the internet and are able to do banking and access government services in their homes,” said Gungubele, as he reflected on the value the project was adding to communities and small businesses.
Gungubele said that their target was to have 1.4 million households connected to the internet by June 2024, while the State Information Technology Agency will connect 14 000 government facilities through the project.
Local chief, Nkosi Zanoxolo Fikeni, who is a beneficiary of the SA Connect Project, said having access to the internet has made his life very easy.
EmaXesibeni small business owner, Tumelo Gwangqa, who operates a local Shisa Nyama, added that having wireless internet connectivity has had a positive impact on his business, as customers were able to place orders remotely using various social media platforms.
